


Did you see the flares in the sky?

by Kjtheavengingnephilim



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, God I miss Tony, I am pretending Endgame never happened, Let's be honest it's basically Tony and Peter and a bit of a fix-it, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Songfic, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24020335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kjtheavengingnephilim/pseuds/Kjtheavengingnephilim
Summary: Losing Peter turned him into a shell- so follow Tony as he finds himself again, and decides to hold fast to whatever hope he can find.
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Kudos: 11





	Did you see the flares in the sky?

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to Flares by the Script and inspiration struck, I guess.  
> Let's be honest, I've had something of this sort cooking in my skull for a year now.  
> I'm KJ, a medical student in India and I miss writing SO SO MUCH.  
> I don't necessarily believe I'm all that great at it- but I do miss it.
> 
> Whoever sees this, I hope you're safe and well.

_Did you lose what won’t return?_

_Did you love but never learn?_

_The fire’s out but still it burns_

_And no one cares, there’s no one there._

“Mr Stark, please. I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go.”  
They sank to the ground, a tangle of limbs and panic and mind-numbing terror, and he murmured useless comfort as he faded away, leaving him with nothing but pain. Nothing but ashes on his hand, and a whole host of painful memories.

His hand shook, trembled, along with what was left of his heart.

He couldn’t breathe.

Was that from guilt?

He couldn’t tell.

He couldn’t tell anything, anymore.

_Gone._

_His fault._

Nothing would be quite the same again, would it?

_Did you find it hard to breathe?  
Did you cry so much that you could barely see  
In the darkness all alone  
And no one cares, there's no one there_

He never wanted to move again. He didn’t think he cared enough, to.

A shell, a ghost of a man.

Tired, in his bones. Lack of oxygen. He knew, in another world, in another time, he would have laughed. After surviving Afghanistan and Obadiah and Loki and Ultron, after putting himself through heart surgery without an anaesthetic, after getting a moon thrown at him, he was going to die, alone, in his worst nightmare, his biggest horror of all.

_You failed._

_Useless._

A distant light bloomed.

A faint smile. Steady eyes.

Safety.

He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.

Because how did you live without a heart?

_Proof that Tony Stark has a heart._

He rested his fingers on his chest, where the arc reactor used to be.

His lips twisted into a bitter smile.

The proof he had a heart was _gone._

Ashes on the wind on an empty, dead planet.

_Well, did you see the flares in the sky?  
Were you blinded by the light?  
Did you feel the smoke in your eyes, did you, did you?  
Did you see the sparks, feel the hope?  
You are not alone, cause someone's out there  
Sending out flares._

“…No trust, _liar._ ”  
That night, alone, he didn’t sleep.

But he did dream.

Peter Parker was burned across his eyelids by the next day, a memory that would live in his brain and in his heart for the rest of his life.

The next day, came the news. He was never coming back.

When he took the first step out of the facility, he felt the sun on his face, and he smiled, faintly.

_For you, kid._

_Did you break but never mend?  
Did it hurt so much you thought it was the end?  
Lose your heart but don't know when?  
And no one cares, there's no one there_

_Well, did you see the flares in the sky?  
Were you blinded by the light?  
Did you feel the smoke in your eyes, did you, did you?  
Did you see the sparks, feel the hope?  
You are not alone, cause someone's out there  
Sending out flares_

_Someone's out there  
Sending out flares._

“I love you 3000.”

“3000? Wow.”

Another look.

“Wow. Good night.”

* * *

One very stupid plan, the goddamned stones, a meeting with Howard Stark and an injured Bruce Banner later, everything went to hell in a handbasket.

But then everything he’d ever dreamed of found its way into his arms.

“This…is nice.”

_I missed you, kid._

“Get _up. Tony._ Please.”

For those big eyes, that young face that had lost some of its innocence, for the sake of another kid with a curious, innocent mind and a big smile, he rose.

Like he always did.

He stitched himself back together for the people he loved, this time.

Their names playing like a song in his head.

_Peter Morgan Peter Morgan Peter Morgan-_

_Did you lose what won't return?  
Did you love but never learn?_

_Well, did you see the flares in the sky?  
Were you blinded by the light?  
Did you feel the smoke in your eyes, did you, did you?  
Did you see the sparks, feel the hope?  
You are not alone, cause someone's out there  
Sending out flares  
Well, did you see the flares in the sky?  
Were you blinded by the light?  
Did you feel the smoke in your eyes, did you, did you?  
Did you see the sparks, feel the hope?  
You are not alone, cause someone's out there  
Sending out flares_

He was Tony Stark. The fog in his mind cleared, the world became sharper, and he almost cried happy tears (Though of course, he would never admit it) when he saw Morgan smile at Peter for the first time.

He was Tony Stark. Father to Morgan Stark…and parent to Peter Parker.

He was Tony Stark.

He would not forget.

Because even if he never wore the suit again, even if the prosthesis on his hand was still being modified to work normally, he was alive.

Not just hour-to-hour survival, he felt joy and life practically vibrating in his ribs.

He had everything.

There was hope out there, and he’d held on to it.

It had brought _him_ home.


End file.
